Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-05-27
THE FIRST DANGER"
A Rather Discouraging View of the De-
cline of Piety In New England.
Boston Congiegationalist.1

Boston Congie gationalist.1
In 1S47 Rev. Horace Bushnell, D. d.,
preached the annual discourse, entitled as
above, before the American Home Mis-
sionary society. Some of the suggestions
which he made therein have been height
ened in import by the observance and ex-
perience of the 40 years which have pass
ed since that time. 1t is clearly truth,
| in the kingdom of grace as in that of
nature, that original wildness has a con.
slant and vigorous tendency to reassert
itself. And as the farmer knows that If a
field reclaimed from woods and briars and
thorns and thistles, until 1t has become
thoroughly mellow and fertile, he left to
itself for few years without tillage, the
original savageness of its state will be
| sure to come back until in time, the
very richness which its season of culture
has added to the soil stimulates the same
TO a more eXuberant than its normal wild
ness-so he who is wise to observe the
conditions of spiritual things does not
need to be told that of all communities
which are exposed to rampant worldli-
ness, and where the gospel finds itself in
the highest degree incapacitated to affect
the people for good, those places where
Christian churches have died out, and
left no sign of surviving influence, are apt
to have specially mournful prominence.
Cody grandparents not only cannot save
ungodly grandchildren, but it sometimes
seems as if what. by the right processes
| on the part of the intermediate genera
ton, would have been made q blessing
has become, by its neglect, transmitted
into positive curse.
So the natural drift of population has
done grievous work. And we venture
to say that many New England Chris
tian, of GO years old and upward, VINO, in
his youth, thoroughly knew the church
ha I'M IF IA Ia tnN bar b.,
was born, were he now TO go back thither
from busy life spent elsewhere, would
find it one of the saddest things which he
ever experienced, to drive over his native
hills and through the valleys where his
young feet had content, and note how
largely, in scarcely two generations, pure
and undefiled religion has died out, and,
for one reason and another, spiritual bar
barism has come in to take its place.
Yonder, old Deacon Ralph Smith house
used to crown long ascent, and although
it was three miles from it to church, and
he usually walked, the good deacon was
apt to be one of the first on the ground
when the second bell on Sabbath morn
ings began to swing and clang in the
steeple, and his double pew was always
full but to-day the line of Smiths has
all died out, or left the place, and one
Jones came in from outside and bought
the farm. Jones is good enough farmer,
and he keeps up the buildings and out
houses. so that the old pleasant look of
things outside remains but Jones is a
"spiritualist," and does not believe in
"priestcraft," and never goes to church {;
in fact. either works, goes fishing or hunt
ing, or rides for pleasure, on Sunday.
Over on the next range of hills, about
three miles and half from church, was
the Abbot place, where dwelt another
family which in successive laps had fur
nished the little church with a deacon for
more than 100 years and in 1880, and
thereabouts, one would as soon have ex-
pected to miss the parson from his end of
the house rs to find Deacon SIP Abbott,
with his five boys-four of whom played
a big bass viol, a violoncello and two fid-
dles-and seven girls, failing, in the sing
ers' gallery opposite, to lift up.a great
voice of praise. But Deacon Si' is gone :
and all his are gone and his place is cut
up into two or three places, which colo
ny of stalWart ScandinavianS cultivates :;
but the shadow OF none of their company
ever darkens the meeting house door.
Coming round by the swamp road" that
pleasant and neighb Orly looking row of
cottages within mile of the Centre"
to which the Whites and the Brownies and
the Blacks and the GreeneS and the Grays
used to foot it merrly in friendly COM
pany home from afternoon service-nOt
without occasional drift-if it was Sun
day-toward some allusion to the fact that
the caravan resembled Josephs coat, in
being, at least nomnally, of many colors
has gone into Irish hands. Greene died
first, and, as his children had all gone to
the city, his place was sold at auctiOn-to
Celt ; and then White moved from the
next house to the next town, and another
Celt came In and so all moved, or died,
until the neighborhood became all Celts-
decent enough people, but so far as they
have any religion, it shows itself in the
occasional importation of priest for
weddings and burials and like urRencies
| And here and there on the cross roads
there is that painful sight of a deserted
| home. The windows are boarded up to
keep tramps out the gate hangs by one
hinge thistles and wild parsnlps contend
with few garden flowers, growing wild,
where once the garden smiled ; and an as
pect of unspeakable neglect, like pail,
| is over all. Barbarism has come back
again with vengeance to all such places,
and there no longer remains any visible
connection between these desolated dwell
ings and those empty pews in the house of
God, which used to be filed week by week
from them.
No wonder some of our country churches
have begun to think this to be serious
business. and to look into the facts, and
ask what-if anything-can be done about
it all.
Some of our Vermont brethren, especi-
ally, have been looking into this matter
|
a little pamphlet with two tremendously
suggestive appeals to the eye. One is a
church map of that State, so marked and
colored as to be eloquent IN its facts. 1t
issfound that about 60 churches have died
out altogether in that State, or been
united to others. 1t is found that the
membership of Congregational churches
there has diminished by about 5000 in the
last SO years. 1t is found that, of those
residents who live two miles or more from
church, but about one third ever attend
it. 1t is believed that Of an entire popu
lation of 1872, 2S6, from 100000 to 10000
besides invalids and little children, never
hear the gospel.
We thank our brethren in Vermont
and particularly Rev. Henry Fairbanks
for leading off In this most important di
rection. Trust in God, and keep yOu
pOlCder dry," was the old Yankee war
cry that did the business for the enemy
but it won't be long, if things are allowed
to 90 on as they are going, before we shall
find that our powder is all so damp thai
its goodness is gone. Our strength vii
have fatted out into weakness. Oul